The New York Times ran this article last week on localism at Pipeline in Hawaii.
The article appears to have been inspired by this article in Outside.
To some degree, you see localism at certain spots in fly fishing. Ever seen it escalate into violence?
Tagged: fly fishing slap fights, Hawaii, localism, surfing
I’ve seen the localism first hand in HI. It’s alive and strong. I can’t say that I blame them much. You have to be from there to understand it.
I haven’t seen it much on the rivers around here, but that’s mainly because everyone up here fishes the lakes by boat. I have heard stories, though, of other anglers casting big spoons over other boats who are too close by to get them to go away. Or cutting other anglers lines for hovering around their boat. Some of the exchanges can get pretty heated. Definitely combat fishing for sure.
You find localism online. The Drake message boards are a prime example. Maybe the violence is not physical, but they sure front some mental abuse.
There’s a certain coastal salmon/steelhead spot I frequent that’s below the radar and a hell of a hike (2 miles through wilderness, nearly 2,000 feet elevation change). The people that bust ass to get in there aren’t usually friendly about sharing. A lot of guys with handguns, a couple dudes w/ pitbulls. It’s less chaotic after the chinook are done. Guys casting big bait rigs over fly lines, stuff like that can probably escalate to a shoot out… especially in the middle of nowhere.
I’ve seen some things escalate around fall blitzes up here, but due more to boneheadedness than localism. Guys who drive right into a boil, or troll through it while others have patiently set up a drift. Cutting people off, driving over peoples lines after they’ve hooked a fish.
I had to bus’ a cap in a dudes ass one time for gettin’ all up in my grill….
Things got a little out of hand between Dre and Eazy that one time:
A couple of times, I have seen shouting matches between boats that are anchored too close, but that’s not really the same thing.
I do however, remember a story from 10-15 years ago in Montauk. One boat accused another of “fishing on his numbers” (loran, gps numbers). It turned into a sort of road rage incident when one boat tried to ram or push the other boat away.
Oh man, loran and gps numbers…stealing those can get you shot and in certain coastal places I bet it would stand up in a court of law. You don’t mess with another guy’s numbers, ever.
And if anyone ever has the genius idea of bringing a gps on board and marking your guide’s spots, don’t do it. You’ll be excommunicated.
localism? don’t know about this one because alternate explanations are possible, but:
many years ago i was fishing with a friend in the lower keys in a popular spot called “The Lake” and we moved into a spot through a channel obeying all local etiquette. we staked off and commenced to swing on the pole when a skiff roars across the flat from several hundred yards away and the driver ferociously rips into us for using a motor (entry into parts of the lake, for those who are not familiar, is by poling from an edge, or motoring in with no wake through a series of very deep channels.) the guy tearing us a new one was pretty out of his mind, had his foot on our guwale and happened to be wearing a bandana in the bandit style, so it was more than disturbing. there was another boat in our crew nearby and its driver was an established local who came over and was eventually able to talk him out of boarding our skiff and committing assault and battery. our compadre was able to defuse the situation because he identified the dude as one of the most famous guides in the world and also happened to have been a long-time client of the famous-lunatic-guide.
i believe it is everyone’s wave – as long as you don’t drop in on someone, same as it is everyone’s ocean – as long as you don’t crap on someone’s fishing. somehow, these simple concepts don’t seem to be universal. or people see the same things very differently…..
I had a similar experience in the Keys once: Guide vs. civilian is sort of related to localism I’d think